A poetic cosmic convergence is building to a crescendo: as the first space shuttle flight since the loss of
the Shuttle Columbia
prepares to fly 200 miles (320 kilometers) above the Earth, the Spirit rover is climbing the last 200 meters
(656 feet) toward the summit of the "Columbia Hills" on Mars.

After
two years of meticulous preparations for
Return
to Flight, the Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to fly, and after 19 months of dauntless determination, Spirit
is nearing the top of "Husband Hill."

The Shuttle Columbia crewmembers strike a "flying" pose for a portrait in January 2003. This picture
was on a roll of unprocessed film later recovered by searchers from the debris.
Image credit: NASA/JSC

Named after Rick Husband,
Commander of the Shuttle Columbia, "Husband Hill" is the tallest among seven hills, each named after the brave souls
who flew on Columbia's last mission.

Rover driver Chris Leger remembers Principal Investigator Steve Squyres' enthusiasm about the "Columbia Hills" on
Mars. When Spirit first landed in Gusev Crater, the hills were 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) away. Enamored with
the expansive landscape, Leger recalls Squyres saying, "The real fun will come when we try to climb those mountains."
Leger thought, "Yeah right - we don't even know if we can drive 200 meters (656 feet) - the "Columbia Hills" are
just a dream!"

On Spirit's sol 156, the dream came true. After five months, Spirit successfully traversed the desert landscape,
and began to drag a tired front wheel up the hills. "It's past sol 500 now, and I've been itching to get to the
summit for a year, but we've been stopping and collecting a lot of good science," says Leger.

The science team is trying to figure out how the surface of Mars has evolved and if water was around long
enough on Mars to have provided a past habitat for life. In the hills named in remembrance of the Columbia
astronauts, scientists have discovered multiple types of rocks that formed under various conditions, including
water, and are finding new clues as they ascend.

"Husband Hill" contains the most challenging terrain to climb. "We're driving on steep slopes between 10 and
30 degrees, while constantly maneuvering around hazardous rocks and drop-offs and dodging sandy patches where
Spirit could slip, dig in, and get stuck," explains Leger.

Despite the treacherous terrain of "Husband Hill," Leger agrees with Squyres' prediction that climbing the hills
would be fun. And if climbing the first mountain on another planet isn't enough, both Squyres and Leger are
avid climbers on Earth. Squyres is an ice climber who spends winter months ascending frozen waterfalls that
dot the countryside of upstate New York.

Leger is a rock climber who goes "bouldering" twice a week. "It's a lot like driving the rover because, to
climb a boulder, you have to look at features on the rock and pick a sequence of movements and tricks that
you think might work, but until you try, you don't know how it's going to turn out," explains Leger.

Since boulders aren't usually very tall, Leger takes a tough foam pad mat to cushion frequent falls, and
climbs with a partner who can act as a spotter. Part of the fun is climbing a route difficult enough that
you might fall dozens of times before figuring it out.

On Mars, mountaineering is a bit different. There are no pads or spotters to protect Spirit, so rover
drivers must be cautious. Spirit was originally climbing "Husband Hill" via "Cumberland Ridge," but progress
was blocked by a dangerous combination of large rocks, steep slopes, and loose sand--all at once. The
team identified an alternate approach that contours around the mountain and climbs the West Face--the
route that Spirit is now climbing, dubbed the "Ramp Route."

This view of Earth was taken by a crewmember onboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on January 23, 2003, and
features the sandy Namib Desert in Africa. Image credit: NASA/JSC

Whether or not Spirit ultimately reaches the summit of "Husband Hill" will depend on the difficulty of the terrain
between Spirit's current position and the summit. Squyres says, "Mountaineering is not the point of the
mission...we're here to do science." No matter how high Spirit climbs over the next few weeks, what the science
team and the world can already see of Mars from Spirit's vantage point on the "Columbia Hills" could inspire the
human spirit as much as what the Shuttle Columbia crew saw flying above Earth.

During their last mission, Columbia Pilot Willie McCool
said, "From our orbital vantage point, we observe an Earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and
magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it, and strive
to live as one in peace."

The Mars Program salutes the Discovery astronauts and honors the family and friends of the Columbia astronauts
as Spirit winds her way up the "Columbia Hills."